An Old Friend
by Rathias
Summary: After the events of the suicide mission, Shepard tries to spend some time enjoying a little R&R - but a message from an old friend sends his world spiraling out of control.


**Prologue.**

Shepard rested against the airlock, sliding down into a sitting position, and placing his head in his hands - taking in a deep breath as he felt the g-force of the Normandy accelerating into warp and out of the Collector ship blast radius press against his chest. As he stared at the exit door – he couldn't help but realize how lucky they had been.

They were told they weren't going to make it out of it – but they did. It was a suicide mission – but they lived. Shepard wasn't sure if it was luck, skill, or pure will that helped him and his team get out of that place alive. They shouldn't have made it out – but they did.

The airlock door hissed open – and in the doorway stood Miranda, blotches of blood covered her white outfit – another reminder of how lucky they were.

She raised a brow at him, "You okay?"

He stood up and grabbed his side, a feeling of pain erupting in his body. He looked at his hand, realizing that his suit had been ruptured and he was bleeding everywhere.

He looked up at Miranda, a worried expression came over her face as soon as she saw his bloody hand, "We need to get you to the infirmary – now."

Shepard tried to take a step forward but his vision blurred – and he stumbled into Miranda's arms. He looked up at her, tears started to form in her eyes.

"Miranda…"

"Don't… don't do this to me, Shepard – you promised!"

He reached up, and touched her cheek, smirking, "I know… and I'm sorry…"

The tears had begun to flow freely now, her words became that of protest, "No, no, no – I'm not going to lose you, damnit!"

He put all of his strength into standing up straight, kissed her one last time, and while staring deeply into her grayish-blue eyes, he muttered, "I love you, Miranda,"

The last thing he saw was the one thing he treasured most in the world – and as the darkness overtook him, a smile came to his face.

He faded away to her screaming out for help, his hand still holding hers'.

**Chapter 1**

A sharp prick in his arm and the sudden rush of a cool liquid brought Shepard to consciousness. He stirred slightly, his side burning with pain. He tried to open his eyes, but he found it more difficult than usual. When he finally did, however, he found himself in a dimly lit room – one he was instantly familiar with.

Miranda's room. It was different though… where there had once been couches and chairs – there were now medical devices spread all over makeshift tables. An IV stand was next to Shepard.

He turned his head slightly, and with blurry vision, tried to discern who the figure standing above him was. But as soon as the gentle hand gave his arm a reassuring squeeze, he knew. A small smile appeared on his face as looked up at her – her form a blur, but a welcome one.

"Miranda…"

She kneeled down beside her bed and looked at him, "You need to rest, Shepard. You've lost a lot of blood."

Shepard tried to sit up, but the wooziness prevented anymore movement. He fell back down onto the pillows, sighing.

"Stubborn one, aren't you?"

They both smiled, though Miranda's brow was still creased with worry. Shepard's was furrowed in pain, his side was burning. He looked over to Miranda, and reached for her hand. She took it and squeezed tightly, leaning down to give him a small kiss on the forehead.

"I'm glad you're awake. The crew has been worried."

A smirk pulled at the corner of Shepard's mouth, "Just the crew?" he asked.

Miranda's mouth fell open in response, but she fumbled with her words, "Well, no. I... I was concerned, of course. Dammit, I thought I'd lost you, Shepard. After you promised me, I thought you... There was nothing I could do, but watch. I've never felt so helpless, so... powerless in my entire life."

She paused and sat on the bed, stroking his face as she continued. "And here you are, returned from the brink of death just to pay me out."

He winced in pain as he tried to contain a short laugh. Miranda shook her head in disapproval, but the smile on her lips said everything he needed to know.

"I should get Chakwas. And update the crew on your condition. Joker will want to..." interrupting her, he grabbed her arm as she started to get up.

"Stay. Please. Just... give me some time alone with you before we have to face everything outside of this room." His eyes pleaded with her even more than his words.

She looked at him, a worried expression on her face. She gave a small nod... and walked over to the other side of the bed, slipping under the covers next to Shepard, and resting her head on his shoulder.

Blackness began to overcome Shepard's vision – and with the intoxicating smell of the woman he loved filling his nostrils – he hoped to find himself falling into a pleasant dream. Turning his head slightly, he gave her a quick kiss on the head, and then let himself slip back into unconsciousness.

Miranda looked over to Shepard, sighing as she realized he had passed out once more. She sat up, gave him a gentle kiss on his lips, and headed for the door.

**Chapter 2**

The blast had knocked Shepard to his back – and sent his vision into blackness. His head was throbbing with a dull pain and his hearing was shot, any sounds being drowned out by a loud ringing noise that threatened to make Shepard nauseous. He had been near explosions before – but it was the first time he had ever taken a Scion's shockwave head on – and he regretted taking the risk of trying to get behind a closer cover.

As he rolled over onto all fours, Shepard felt a warm liquid begin to flow down his side. He put a hand there to feel exactly what it was – and was shocked to realize that it was blood – his blood. His suit had been breached and where there had once been skin – there was nothing but bare muscle and ribs.

Shepard began to ferociously blink his eyes – trying to regain any sort of vision, and as it came back to him, and into a clearer focus – he realized the cost of his mistake.

Shepard had only been scratched by the shockwave. It was Jack, following right behind him, who had taken the blunt of the blast. Her body had been ripped to shreds and it unrecognizable – the only clue being the tattered remnants of skin which showed off her once unique tattoos.

Saying a quick prayer for the fallen, Shepard pushed himself up – and looked around the battlefield for Garrus. His old friend had taken position behind an obelisk – and was unleashing sniper rifles rounds into the still standing Scion. Upon seeing his Commander back up and moving behind cover, he called out;

"Are you alright, Shepard!?"

"I am… but Jack isn't."

"It's a tough loss, Shepard – but we need to keep moving – Bravo team is probably not having an easy time getting to that door either."

Giving a nod, and giving one last look at the remains of his old teammate, Shepard activated the incendiary extension on his assault rifle – aimed down the scope at the Scion's fleshy head – and unleashed hell.

Watching with satisfaction as the rounds ignited with the volatile blood of the scion, Shepard jumped over his cover, and withdrew his shotgun from his back, "Garrus – keep it staggering."

Shepard felt the heat of the sniper rounds on his neck as they passed over his shoulder and into the beast. As he neared the scion, Shepard put all of his might into shoving the butt of his shotgun into the beast, knocking it on its back. Jumping on top of the fallen creature, Shepard let loose a round directly into its mouth.

Garrus jogged up to Shepard, smirking, "You enjoyed that, didn't you?"

Shepard smirked and let out of a laugh. His smile quickly faded though, when he saw stirring behind Garrus, and realized that Collector reinforcements had arrived, "Get to cover!"

Enemy fire ripped through the air where they had been standing in seconds earlier – and as he ducked under cover, Miranda's voice filled his head;

"Shepard, we're almost to the door."

"Acknowledged! Be prepared to provide suppression fire when you open the door – we're pinned down here."

"Affirmative - Miranda out."

The comm channel clicked closed and Shepard looked up over his cover, firing a couple of bursts from his vindicator into the enemy lines. As he ducked back down into cover, he looked forward towards the door – watching as its machinations began to activate – and it slowly slide open. From the small crack that appeared – bullets hailed out of it – and into the oncoming Collectors.

"Shepard!" He heard Miranda cry out, "Hurry!"

Giving a quick nod and the signal to Garrus, Shepard picked himself up and rushed for the door. Garrus got there first, turning to unleash one last clip of sniper rounds into the incoming Collectors. It was then that he heard an all too familiar sound;

"Assuming direct control."

Stopping in his tracks, Shepard turned to watch one of the Collectors become engulfed in a bright yellow light. As the being became visible once again, crevices appeared all over its body, an eerie yellow glow radiating from them. Its eyes had also changed – the lightest orange tinge they once had was also replaced by a strong vibrant yellow glow.

The being looked directly at Shepard, and an ominous voice, announced, "If I must tear you apart myself, Shepard, I will."

Shepard smirked, and before turning around to run back to the door, he boasted, "Try it."

He still had that look when he passed through the door – the look of a small personal victory – when the bullet singed past him. The look was replaced with horror as the resounding slam of the doors shutting timed itself perfectly with the bullet hitting Jacob square in the chest.

Jacob looked down, examining the hole where his lung once was. He looked up at Shepard, an expression of confusion on his face, as he body fell limp to the ground.

"JACOB!"

**Chapter 3**

"Shepard, wake up!"

Shepard sprang forward on the bed, his side immediately making him regret such a sudden move. Beads of sweat were trickling down his brow, his eyes were clenched in pain, and he struggled to catch his breath. Miranda sat up next to him, gingerly placing her arms on his shoulders.

"Are you okay? You started to shake and I…" she said softly.

His side felt like it was on fire, but he didn't lie down for fear of passing out again. He ran his hands over his head as he inhaled deeply.

"I… thought something was wrong," Miranda continued.

Shepard shook his head and looked at her for the first time since waking. Like it always did when he gazed upon her beauty, his breathe was stolen from him, and everything in the world began to calm. The pounding in his chest subsided – and the pain from his side was pushed out of mind as he looked upon her gorgeous face. She was beautiful with makeup – but without it, in the glow of her natural beauty, he found himself awestruck. His eyes slowly moved down, examining the casual clothing he didn't expect to find her in. Her Cerberus outfit was draped over a chair. All she wore was a light v-neck t-shirt, the rest of her hidden under the covers.

His lungs crying out in pain finally caused him to return to reality, and he gasped a bit for air;

"I woke you," he said, almost more as a question than a statement. "I'm sorry."

She narrowed her eyes in a worried expression as she put her hand to his face.

"It was just a nightmare." she whispered, lightly tracing his jaw line with her fingertips, "Everything's okay now."

He closed his eyes and bowed his head toward her. "No, it was… *real*… it felt… real," he said, his voice raw with emotion.

"What are you talking about? What did you dream?" she asked. When he didn't answer, she put her hands on both sides of his face and gently lifted his head. He opened his eyes to meet her gaze.

"I don't need you to be the stoic, invincible Commander Shepard right now. I need you to be the man I fell in love with… Don't hide him from me," she pleaded.

He stared into her eyes as he struggled to find the words.

"I was dreaming of the mission… on the Collector base. It's the only thing that has been running through my mind – haunting me," He shifted his gaze, unable to meet her eyes as he spoke the rest. "It was Virmire all over again… They put their life in my hands – and I let them down… I failed them, just as I failed Williams," he said, his words barely audible.

Her hand wandered to his chest as she spoke. "This isn't your burden to bear alone, Shepard. You're supposed to share it. Be strong for your crew… but share your burdens with me."

Sighing, he placed his hand over hers on his chest.

"I'm the reason both of them are dead. My decisions caused them to be in a casket rather than sipping on celebratory champagne with the rest of the crew. Had I not tried to get closer to that Scion, Jack would still be with us. Had I not stopped running to the door, Jacob wouldn't have a hole in his chest bigger than Legion's." He bowed his head, letting out a deep sigh. "It wasn't self-sacrifice that caused their deaths… it was me."

Miranda looked up at Shepard, "If you hadn't helped Samara reach the tunnel after her biotic barrier left her exhausted, she would've been taken away by the swarm. If you hadn't opened those valves for Tali as she made her way through the ventilation shafts, she would be nothing right now. And if you hadn't jumped down and risked your life to save mine on that platform… I would be dead. Shepard, your choices, whether you like them or not, affect whether people live and die. That is a heavy responsibility and one I am not jealous of… but understand that you should not berate yourself by dwelling on all of your failures. Use them. Use them to become a better person and ultimately a better leader."

She sighed, "We all make mistakes, Shepard. But it's how we deal with them that defines us – not the mistakes themselves."

Unable to bear the pain in his side or the pierce of her gaze any longer, he laid back and tried to blink away the tears that had pooled in his eyes. She leaned down slowly and softly kissed his tears away, a reassuring smile on her face. As he brushed her hair behind her ear, she pulled back and looked down at him.

"I've never loved anyone like I love you, Miranda." he said, his voice coarse like gravel.

"I've never loved anyone before you, period." she replied. She brushed her lips against his, baiting him to let their passion overwhelm him. Shepard kissed her fervidly, forgetting everything else in that moment. But as much as they yearned for one another, they both knew he was in no condition. When the pain from his side threatened to send him into blackness, he finally laid his head down to sleep with her in his arms , he found himself falling, once again, into her eyes – those grayish-blue gates to the heavens.

**Chapter 4**

Weeks passed and Shepard's condition had slowly improved. Finally sleeping in his own room once more, though not entirely happy about it, he was almost fully recovered and had taken over his duties as acting captain once again.

As he sat at his desk, leaning back in his chair and going over mission reports, his computer chimed to alert him of a new message. Thankful for the distraction, he finished reviewing the report as quickly as possible and then opened the e-mail. He was surprised to find it was from an old friend from the Alliance – a man who he had served with before the events of Akuze. Before he could read more than a few sentences, however, he heard the door to his cabin hiss open. Knowing who it was before he turned to look, a smile appeared on his face as Miranda approached him, two cups in her hand – and the aroma of freshly brewed Earth coffee filled his nostrils.

"You're up early," she remarked as she handed him one of the cups.

He stood, set the cup down on the table, and grabbed her around the waist – pulling her in close, putting his face close to hers and baiting her to kiss him.

"Mmm," she cooed, "And frisky too, I see. We must be feeling good today." A flirtatious smile spread across her face as he suppressed a laugh. Clearing his throat, he said, "It *has* been a while…"

"And until you're completely recovered, that's the way it will stay." she said, voicing it more as a command than a statement. She sat on the desk before continuing. "I was just coming to check on you, actually. I wanted to see how those reports were coming along. I know how you hate them... And I wanted to make sure you weren't… neglecting your mail," she smirked, taking a small sip of her coffee before continuing, "Hackett said he would be sending us some more intel on that newly discovered Reaper tech shortly. "

He sat back down in his seat and smiled at her before positioning himself at the computer.

"You really have to stop reading my mail." he playfully scolded.

Visibly flustered, she protested, "What? I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"So do you want to tell me the gist of it," he asked as he motioned toward the screen, "or do I have to read it myself?"

Clearly annoyed that he caught her, she sighed, "Fine. But to clear the air, I only do it to ensure we don't miss anything important. It's a habit that began in Cerberus that I'm finding… difficult to relinquish."

He placed his hand on her thigh and gave a reassuring squeeze, "I know."

Jumping at the opportunity to change the subject, she carried on, "As I'm sure you know that e-mail is from Zachary Thrace. I gathered from the message that you served in the Alliance with him, before Akuze?"

He crossed his arms as he shifted back in his chair and answered, "Yeah… He was in my first squad. He's the man who taught me everything I know in regards to survival. Hell, I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for him."

She nodded in understanding, "Then I suppose you'll have to thank him for me. He said he's just received word that you were alive and he'd like to get together for drinks soon. He's on Omega for the next week."

Shepard's brow arched, "Is that so? Hmm… That's lucky timing considering we're scheduled to stop there in a few days."

"It is quite a coincidence…" she replied, "But I think we might just be a little on edge after everything we've been through lately. I'm sure an old friend of yours doesn't deserve this level of paranoia."

"You're right. It will be good to see him… And I want you to meet him. More importantly, I want him to meet you," He stood as he spoke and grabbed her waist, pulling her toward him ever so slightly.

She gave him a devilish grin, "Is that an order, Commander?"

He pulled her closer, leaving no distance between them. "It is, Ms. Lawson." His hands slid down her waist as he buried his face in her neck, kissing her jaw line ever so slightly. He grabbed her and started to lift her from the desk when a burst of pain seized his body. He cursed under his breath as he leaned against her and held his side.

"Dammit, Shepard," Concern colored her voice, "You know you can't lift anything yet. You've ripped your stitches out… *again*. You'll never heal properly at this rate."

"Still worth it." he muttered, smirking.

Sighing with amusement she said, "Let's get you to Dr. Chakwas."

**Chapter 5**

Shepard led Miranda up the stairs into the long passageway that led into the vibrant upper level of Afterlife. As the doors hissed open, the sound of bass and people chatting instantly drowned out any other noises. Lights were flashing across the ceiling – and hundreds of people surrounded the main bar, either dancing or binge drinking. Miranda held onto Shepard tighter in order to avoid them getting separated while walking past the bar.

Neither of them was expecting trouble – though they didn't hesitate to take precautions. Under her low-cut red dress, Miranda had a small pistol and shield generator in her left and right garter. Shepard, on the other hand, was wearing a dark suit with a white button up – his shield generator was attached to the back of his belt, while his pistol was in a holster near his ribs. Every step caused the gun to rub against his wound, but it didn't cause too much pain – and it constantly reminded Shepard that, even though this was to be a pleasant night with the woman he cared for, he was a very valuable target – and he needed to be prepared.

As they approached Aria's loft, her Turian guard waved them through without a word. They walked past him, commanding the attention of everyone in the club – and hushed whisperings began to circulate the room. Aria turned as they entered, a smug look on her face.

"Well, it seems you took my advice after all. Good for you. I told you a nice girl would loosen you up." she motioned for them to join her on the couch.

"What makes you think she's nice?" he shouted over the music. Miranda nudged his wounded side causing him to grimace in pain.

Aria laughed, "I guess she's not. Which means I like her already." Her face grew serious once again. "So, not that I don't love these little chats, but what do you want now?"

"Don't worry," he said. "We're just here for some drinks with a friend. There won't be a body count with this visit. We just need you to get us into the VIP club."

Aria looked out at the club, a disinterested tone filling her voice. "Sure. Consider it done. I owe you more than that after what you did for me." She turned her gaze toward him again. "I don't mind a body count, Shepard." A cruel edge carried her words. "I just don't want any well-intentioned idiots thinking they can fuck with the way I run Omega. And you… the entire purpose of your existence is to give well-intentioned idiots bad ideas."

Shepard stood and helped Miranda up. Looking from Aria to Miranda he smirked and replied, "Not tonight it isn't."

Aria gave a disinterested shrug, waving them away.

With that, he headed toward the VIP club, arm in arm with Miranda.

**Chapter 6**

The pair walked into the VIP lounge without as much as a nod from the guard standing outside. Similar to the upper portion of Afterlife – the VIP room was booming with base and the lights were flashing around, illuminating random dancers. Shepard looked around the club, trying to find his old friend – when he saw an individual wave them over from one of the booths. Smirking, he led Miranda over.

He was surprised to see how much the once Sergeant Thrace had changed since basic training. The once proud Marine was replaced by a man who's faced showed plainly years of struggle with alcoholism and depression. He had let his hair grow back out, and the jet black hair he once had was now tinged with streaks of gray. One thing hadn't changed though – and that the man's smile, then one that Shepard knew he could trust.

"Shepard, my old friend," Zachary smiled as the pair approached.

"Thrace!" they embraced like brothers, patting each other on the back, "It's been too long."

"Indeed, it has," he turned and raised a brow at Miranda, his smile turning to a smirk, "And hello there, beautiful – and who might you be?" He took her hand in his and gave it a small kiss.

"Lawson, Miranda Lawson," she said with a smile.

"Well, Ms. Lawson – it is a pleasure to meet you. Shepard mentioned bringing along a beautiful woman when he sent me his reply – though he vastly understated, I must say, on just how beautiful."

She gave a courteous nod, "Thank you for the compliments, Mr. Thrace."

Zachary motioned for them to have a seat. As they sat down in the plush couch that surrounded the glass table, Thrace motioned for a waiter to bring them some drinks before turning to his old friend.

"I'd ask what you've been up to, old friend," he let out a small laugh, "but I think the whole galaxy knows."

Shepard shared in his laugh, "Well, I have you to thank for that. If you hadn't absolutely drilled me during basic, I wouldn't have survived most of what I've been through."

Thrace patted him on the back, "You give me too much credit, Shepard – but it's good to finally see some of that work pay off."

"What about yourself, Thrace? What have you been up to?"

The waiter had returned with their drinks. As Thrace sipped on his, he responded, "Nothing like yours. The Alliance canned me about 3 years ago. Some kid got killed during basic and they pinned all the blame on me. Hasn't been the same since then. Wife left me, kids don't talk to me," he set his drink down, "but I try to keep on going, ya know? It's always darkest before dawn."

They shared a laugh.

"I'm sorry to hear about that, Thrace. If you need any help…"

"I might, soon… I have this idea in the works and I could use you down the road."

Shepard gave a small nod, "Absolutely."

It was then that Miranda gently squeezed Shepard's hand under the table, causing him to turn to her – and then to what she was staring at the other side of the club. It was turian mercenary – wearing a used Blue Suns merc armor, the emblem scratched out, and replaced with what looked like an inverse Cerberus emblem. The merc was carrying a vindicator battle rifle – and as soon as the surveying of the room caused him to set eyes upon Miranda and Shepard, he clicked off the safety – and aimed the rifle straight at them.

Shepard turned to Zachary, an evil grin on the man's face, "Like I said… I could use you down the road."

**Chapter 7**

The merc had closed the distance and was feet from them when Shepard's eyes met Miranda's. She nodded slightly. Before Thrace could even register the hidden meaning in their look, Shepard's arm came up as he spun out of the gun's aim. He wrapped his arm around the turian's and thrust upward, snapping the mercs arm in half. Simultaneously Miranda grabbed her pistol and aimed it at Thrace. Shepard caught the rifle as it fell from the merc's hands and used the butt of it to knock him unconscious.

Shepard turned the rifle on Zachary, "You betrayed me."

"Everyone's out for themselves, Shepard. Do you know how much you are worth? More importantly… do you know how much SHE is worth?" He pointed a finger at Miranda.

Shepard shot off the finger, "Who wants her?"

Zachary fell of his chair, watching with a confused expression as the blood flowed freely out of the stump where his index finger had once been, "You bastard!"

"Tell me!"

"Toombs wants her. She's Cerberus. He got into contact with me about two months ago – told me to try to get you alone so he could use you as leverage against her," he gripped his hand in pain, "Couldn't imagine my surprise when you made this job a lot easier."

"I'll kill you for this."

Thrace laughed, "No you won't… it's not in you."

Shepard knew he was right – but he didn't want him to be. Instead, he smashed the butt of the rifle into his old friend's head, knocking him out cold, before turning toward Miranda.

"Shepard," she began.

He interrupted her. "We need to get you out of here."

"We're both getting out of here, Shepard."

He nodded, dropping the rifle as she holstered her pistol. He took her hand in his and together they walked toward the door.

"Why can't we ever have an easy night?"

She smirked, giving him a small shrug as her answer, "Aria isn't going to like this." He nodded. Together they walked out of the now empty bar – right into a group of waiting mercenaries, all wearing an outfit similar to the one the turian was wearing. A clapping sound suddenly echoed through the corridor where they stood.

**Chapter 8**

"Well, well, Shepard. I must say… I am impressed on how far you have fallen," a recognizable voice said from behind the group. They split down the middle – and walking right through them – was the once Corporal Toombs, a vile smirk on his face, "First… you not only destroy quite a few Cerberus research facilities and prevent me from killing one of their head scientists.. . but then you JOIN them. That was quite an interesting tidbit of information there, let me tell you. And now… you're guarding this… bitch… from what she deserves?"

Both Miranda and Shepard instantly unholstered their pistols, aiming them both at Toombs.

Toombs began to laugh, "Oh, how far you have fallen indeed."

"You don't understand the situation, Toombs. Let me explain before this turns into a bloodbath."

"Bloodbath?" Another laugh. "There is two of you… and… seven of us. Tell me, Shepard – how are you going to manage to get out of this one, hm? Just hand her over and I'll let you walk – consider it an act of good nature, because of how far back we go."

"No."

"No? Come on, Shepard – be reasonable here. You're in the business of saving lives… as am I – and one less Cerberus agent in the galaxy means more innocent lives saved," his voice slowly turned to anger, "Don't you remember Akuze? Don't you recall how innocent we were inspecting that distress call when we were ambushed by those thresher maws – for THEIR experiment? How could you defend this bitch from the justice that she rightly deserves?"

Shepard didn't answer.

Toombs glared at him and turned back to his mercenary group, "Kill him – take the woman."

**Chapter 9**

Miranda let lose a shockwave of a biotic power before her and Shepard ducked behind some crates stacked near them. As Toombs and the rest of the mercs stumbled to get back up and behind cover themselves, Shepard and Miranda quickly took out the nearest two – taking the enemy count down to five.

Shepard knocked out a thermal clip before leaning out of cover – sending a couple of shots towards where Toombs was hiding, unable to hit his mark. Miranda, on the other hand, had used her biotic power to send a krogan slamming into a wall.

"Nighty, night," she mumbled, smirking at her kill.

One of the mercenaries, a salarian, had decided to be crafty and charged the pair. He had jumped over the crate where Shepard was crouched by in an attempt to take the Commander by surprise. As the salarian was in mid-air, Shepard sent a left hook towards its mask – breaking the glass, and causing the salarian to do a flip before hitting the ground, its neck snapping on impact.

Toombs, seeing his men losing handedly, decided to flee, "Pathetic mercs! Earn your pay or I'll kill you myself!"

The battle didn't last for much longer – the mercs, though trained well, were no match for the combined skill of Miranda and Shepard. As Miranda ended the bout by putting a round between a turian mercs eyes, they both emerged from cover.

Shepard looked Miranda over, noticing a tear in her red dress, "I'm sorry, Miranda."

She knocked her pistol, sending a thermal clip to the ground, "What for?"

"For this."

"Shepard…"

"This was supposed to be just a simple night for us – drinks with a friend, have a good time… be able to relax after all we've been thro-"

She moved in close and put her finger on his lips, smiling, "This is our life, Shepard – it's the one we were born to live. Every day is a fight to survive – and every night with you… makes it all worth it. Don't start apologizing to me now."

He gave a small nod, slipped off his jacket and began rolling up his shirt sleeves, "Alright then – head back to the Normandy. I'm going to clean up this mess."

"I'm not leaving you," she said firmly, "And I think you know better than to try to change my mind. You helped me deal with my mess on Illium – time for me to help you with your's."

He gave a small sigh and nodded, "Alright," he turned on his com, "Joker. We've got a problem. Tell Garrus to meet us in the slums."

"Got it, Commander. How is he supposed to locate you, exactly?" Joker asked.

"Tell them to follow the sound of gunfire… Shepard out."

He looked at Miranda once more. "Let's go then."

**Chapter 10**

Miranda followed Shepard as they ran toward the slums where Toombs had fled to. Shepard's side was killing him from the running – but the anger coursing through his body was enough to help him deal with it. He couldn't believe the man would do this – that he would go this far. There would be justice – but not in the way Toombs wanted.

They had followed Toombs into the apartment district of the Omega, down into the slums where the vorcha normally dwelled. But this evening, there were no vorcha in sight. That sent up a red flag for Shepard – but it hit him a bit late then he needed – for just as they turned a corner, they came under fire.

"Ambush!" Shepard yelled out as he ducked and rolled forward, crouching behind a ventilation shaft.

Miranda dropped back from the corridor, leaning against a support beam. Toombs was close to Shepard – roughly about ten feet ahead of him.

Shepard looked over to Miranda, "Cover me."

She nodded, leaned out of cover – and began firing shots from her pistol as Shepard charged Toombs position. As Toombs peaked out from his cover, he was met with a fist – a right hook from Shepard – aimed directly to his face. Toombs gun went flying down into a drainage vent – and Shepard had discarded his in the charge.

A fist fight ensued – both combatants throwing well placed punches – their military martial arts training coming out in both of them. Whenever Toombs through a punch, Shepard was there to block it – and whenever he attempted a counter attack, Toombs managed to find a weak spot in the attack – causing Shepard to abandon and parry. Occasionally, one would manage to get a good hit on the other – but not enough to knock the other one out.

Bullets were flying past both of them – the mercs, not caring whether or not their employer got hit or not – spent most of their time trying to take out Miranda. As they aimed their assault rifles down the way – most of the bullets sung past the pair dueling in the center.

It was when a bullet clipped Toombs did Shepard finally find his opening. Sending a left hook into the open defense of his adversary, Shepard managed to send Toombs stumbling back. As Shepard moved forward to finish the fight with his old squad mate, Miranda's voice filled the air;

"Shepard! We have company."

He stopped looking at Toombs and looked up to see Miranda aim her gun at a new group of Toombs' mercs. He was distracted for just a second – one he would regret wasting. As he turned back to look at Toombs, he received a punch in the face. As he stumbled back, gripping his nose from the impact, Toombs noticed blood staining Shepard's white shirt, a result of his stitches being ripped out again. Grinning viciously, Toombs took the opportunity to act and punched him as hard as he could in Shepard's wound.

Falling to the ground in agony, he looked up in time to see Toombs slowly turn and walk towards Miranda, who had her back towards them, distracted by the appearance of the reinforcements. As Toombs pulled something from his armor, a glimmer of light sparked off it – and Shepard instantly knew what it was.

A needle.

Shepard yelled at her, "Miranda!!" She turned just as Toombs grabbed her and shoved the needle deep into her neck.

"NO!" Shepard shouted as her body went limp.

"Don't worry, Commander." Toombs said victoriously as he backed into the group of mercs, dragging Miranda with him. "It's just a sedative. She won't come to any harm as long as you keep your distance. Plus, I need her. I'm going to torture the information I need out of this little bitch of your's."

"Let her go - NOW." He commanded, staggering as he rose to his feet.

Toombs laughed, "Or what, Shepard? You're already dead," He motioned at his mercs, "Kill him."

Toombs handed Miranda over to a krogan, who threw her the body over his shoulder. Giving Shepard one last smirk, he turned – and both he and Miranda disappeared.

The rest of the mercs lined up in front of Shepard, each of them raising their weapons directly at his head.

**Chapter 11**

"Any last words, Commander?"

Shepard fell to his knees, defeated. He had failed – Toombs had won. He was in no shape to try and take out these mercs alone – and he had so foolishly thrown his gun away when he attempted to take him down in a fistfight. Another mistake – another life he would lose… and the most important life it was to him. The life of the woman he loved. He tried not to cry – he needed to stay strong in his final seconds.

Lost in his sorrows, Shepard didn't hear the five quick sniper rounds echo through the corridor – killing the mercs lined up in front of him. What did take him out of his trance, however, was a familiar turian hand resting on his shoulder.

"Shepard."

He turned his head slightly, "They took her, Garrus."

Garrus leaned down and wrapped Shepard's arm around his neck, helping his friend stand on his own two feet. Garrus thrusted his battle rifle into Shepard's chest. He looked down at it, the anger beginning to once again fuel him.

"Then let's go get them," Garrus said, smirking as he knocked a thermal clip out of his sniper.

An evil mood overtook Shepard as he picked up one of the mercs assault rifles, and as Garrus was taken aback by the dark intentions he saw in his Commander's eyes, what he said next equally surprised him, "We are going to kill them…

We are going to kill them all."

**Chapter 12**

Shepard and Garrus ran down the corridor that Toombs and Miranda disappeared down, the pain in Shepard's side being blocked out by his rage for the man who betrayed him. As they continued running through packs of people and eventually down into the slums – Garrus realized exactly where they were going.

"Shepard – wait."

They slowly stopped, Garrus bringing up his omni-tool to inspect the overview of the area, "I knew it."

"Knew what?"

"We're going towards my old hideout – where you found me the first time."

Shepard smirked, "Then we have an advantage."

"Yes, yes we do. Follow me – I know a shortcut down into the storage room. It's through some ventilation shafts – but it was to be my escape route had you not showed up when those mercs cornered me."

Shepard nodded, and followed the turian through the maze that was the slums. Over time, Shepard lost track of where they were exactly – and eventually found himself wondering whether Garrus knew where he was either.

"Are you sur-"

"Shepard… I was here for a lot longer than you, trust me," the turian said before slowing down. His eyes darted left and right, inspecting. Eventually, his hand pointed out a small shaft about 10 feet above them.

"There."

Strapping the assault rifle to his shoulder, Shepard nodded and began his ascent – gripping hold of pipes and concrete as he scaled the wall. He slipped into the vent with ease – it big enough to fit a krogan. Garrus appeared behind him – and together they both made their way towards the hideout – towards Shepard's revenge.

**Chapter 13**

Miranda slowly opened her eyes, her head throbbing with a headache. She shook her head slightly, trying to get her vision to clear up – and figure out where she as. As she started to bring her hand up to her face, she realized that she was sitting in a chair, her hands tied behind her back. A voice filled the room and her head turned just as Toombs stepped into her peripheral vision.

"You're finally awake. I trust you slept well?" A menacing grin spread across his face.

"Where's Shepard?" she demanded, the throbbing in her head starting to subside.

"Oh, I don't think you should be worrying about him, given your current predicament… and the fact that he's dead," He bopped his head from left to right, satisfaction flooding his expression.

Her voice caught in her throat as she tried to speak, "Dea…" She closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them, her grayish-blue eyes were consumed with rage, "You're lying."

"Am I?" he replied, "He was wounded, weak, AND completely outnumbered. Not to mention unarmed. I know first-hand how scrappy he can be… But no one could survive those odds."

Seething with fury, Miranda began glowing a brilliant blue.

"Ah ah ah," He finally stepped into full view and stood in front of her, a pistol pointed at her, "I wouldn't try that if I were you," he banged on the door to the room. Two turian mercs, both armed with assault rifles entered the room – and stood to the right and left of her.

She reluctantly lowered the biotic field.

"There. See? We can be civil about this," Toombs holstered his gun while the other mercs kept theirs trained on her. He stepped closer and bent over to meet her gaze as he rested his hands on her thighs. Touching her ear lightly with his lips he said, "And if you cooperate…" His hands squeezed her thighs. "…I won't have to tear you apart."

He slowly pulled away, a smug look on his face. Miranda smiled at him, though anyone who knew her would know this smile meant trouble. She leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Go to hell." With that, she thrust her leg up into his groin as hard as she could manage, her shin making impact. Toombs fell to the floor in pain, a cry of agony issuing from his mouth. One of the guards stepped forward, the butt of his rifle poised to strike when Toombs squeaked out a "no".

Miranda couldn't help but laugh.

Seconds later, when he was finally able to shakily rise to his feet, he glared at Miranda. "Bitch!" he shouted as he used the back of his hand to strike her in the face, "If you live long enough, I'll make you regret that."

She looked at him, licking the blood from her lip. "Funny… I was going to say the same thing."

Roaring in fury and pain, he turned his back on her and started limping toward the door, "If she moves, shoot her! But don't kill her. I want some time with her before I do that myself," he snarled as he walked out the door.

Miranda let out a sigh as the man left the room. Could Shepard really be dead? No, no he couldn't be. But Toombs… his face wasn't lying. She had to get out of here… she had to find out, but she needed a way to get out of this room first. A plan began formulating in her head as soon as the mercs began idly conversing – giving her the distraction she needed. She focused a small bit of her biotic power to burning the rope that tied her hands together.

When the rope fell to the ground, she rubbed her wrists slightly as she examined the guards, "I hope whatever he's paying you was worth dying for…"

They both quickly aimed their rifles at her – but were too slow. She was behind one and snapping his neck before they had even turned off their safeties. She held the limp body in front of her as the other merc turned and opened fire, letting his dead friend soak all the bullets.

A devilish smirk came on her face when she thrust her hand out – sending a large pulse of biotic power towards the other turian – sending his body crashing into the wall. She dropped the other body, and with a fury in her eyes, she grabbed one of the rifles – blew open the door with another blast – and proceeded to hunt down the man who dared to claim he had killed Shepard.

**Chapter 14**

"Here, Shepard."

They looked down at an opening in the vent shaft into one of the main cargo rooms of the hideout. They had been crawling for the past 15 minutes – and to finally know he was close to finding Toombs… to finding Miranda, Shepard couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"Let's get this over with."

The drop was about 20 feet. As they both landed, years of combat training caught them to duck forward and allow most of the force from landing to spread throughout the body, instead of trying to stay on two feet. They quickly brought their weapons up when they stood back up – expecting to find a few of Toombs' mercs in the area, but there were none.

Lowering his rifle, Shepard turned to address Garrus, "I know this room. Didn't the Blood Pack attempt to breach through this way when they began their attack?"

Garrus nodded, "Aye… and by the stench, or lack of I should say, I would say that Toombs has been using this place for awhile."

"Let's move then."

As they took their first step towards the staircase that led to the main floor – an elevator chimed opened right in front of them. Out of it poured a group of mercs, all of them instantly firing down towards the pair as they exited.

Garrus leaned out of his cover, squeezing off two shots, sending both of them plummeting into one of the krogan mercs, sending its body flipping backwards from the force.

Shepard leaned out as well, sending four quick succession bursts from his vindicator rifle down the range – each burst effectively puncturing the helms and killing four of the mercs.

They spent the next five minutes exchanging fire with the final two – the enemy pair obviously being the best military trained out of the group that was sent down.

"We're wasting time here, Shepard," Garrus called out, popping a thermal clip out of his sniper.

Shepard surveyed the field – trying to figure out a way to quickly take out the lasts of the mercs – when he saw the giant container of gas dangling from the ceiling above them. He quickly shot towards the chains holding it up – and watched as the explosion ignited the two mercs on fire. They ran, screaming from behind cover, trying to find a way to douse the flames.

Garrus brought his sniper up in a mercy attempt to put them out of their misery, but Shepard stopped him, putting a hand on the barrel of the rifle and gently pushing it down, "No… no, they will suffer, Garrus."

As the mercs feel to the ground, dead – Garrus and Shepard entered the elevator, punching the button that would take them to the main floor – and hopefully, to Toombs.

**Chapter 15**

Miranda rushed down the narrow hall, the flickering florescent lights barely illuminating the path. She recognized these halls, though only barely – this was Archangel's hideout, or Garrus, as they found out – when he was being attacked by the merc groups. She remembered coming down this way to seal a breach in the lower defense – and instantly she knew where she was.

As she came to the exit to the hallway, she slowed down her pace – careful to make sure no guards stationed at the door would hear her. When she got right up next to the door, she put her ear to it – hearing hushed voices. She checked her heat sink on her rifle – took a deep breath – and kicked down the door.

Before the door had even hit the ground – Miranda had taken in the entire room, calculating the best strategy. There were five mercenaries – two humans, two turians, and a vorcha. The room was a basic square – across from where Miranda had entered, there was an exit. Between that though, were two couches facing one another. Not the best cover – but it'd have to do. Resting on the furthest couch were the two turians. To her immediate right – one of the humans was toying with the vorcha – while the other human was leaning in the furthest left corner – cleaning his rifle. As the ringing sound of the metal door hitting the concrete ground echoed through the chambers – Miranda attacked.

She sent the vorcha slamming into the human with her biotics, causing both of them to die instantly from the impact against the concrete wall. As she moved to crouch under cover behind the nearest couch, she sent a spray of bullets towards the turians. One of them was killed instantly, a bullet piercing his helmet. The other quickly jumped over the couch, being clipped in the shin as he did. The human began opening fire on Miranda as she ducked under cover.

Feeling the heat of the enemy bullets rush over her head, Miranda tapped her rifle – sending a thermal clip falling to the ground. She counted a few seconds, waited for the mercs to have to do the same, before standing up from behind cover – and sending a biotic blast right at the couch. Sending it, and the turian behind it, straight towards the opposite wall. The human was flipped over it – having been standing up when the biotic blast hit – and sending the couch to take his feet out from underneath him.

He was trying to pick himself up from the ground when he felt the warm barrel against the back of his head.

"Nighty, night."

A spray of blood hit Miranda's face – her breathing had become fast-paced, and she forced herself to calm down as she approached the groggy turian pinned under the couch. She grabbed him by the neck and threw him though opposite door – sending him flying into the main room of the hideout.

She marched right into the room – not a guard in sight. The turian merc however, was struggling to get away – his legs having been broken by the crouch. Miranda walked up to him – and grabbed the back of his collar.

"Where is Toombs?" She demanded.

He said nothing. Her fist flamed in blue as she slammed it into the merc's jaw, shattering it upon impact.

"Where is he?" she shouted, growing impatient.

Unable to talk, he pointed his finger shakily at the balcony above her. She turned to investigate, but her attention was drawn to the elevator – the loud ding of its arrival causing Miranda to realize that she was completely out in the open. Without remorse, she sent a single bullet into the turian's gut – determined to make the merc suffer.

She stood up and faced the elevator – her fists glowing in a vibrant blue – waiting for the doors to open barely to send a biotic blast right into the group of mercs she thought was going to appear.

As the machinations of the elevator began to work – and the door was barely ajar – she put all of her focus into that blast, sending it directly into the elevator. Two figures managed to jump out of the way as soon as it impacted – sending the elevator bellowing out the side of the hideout – and down into the deeps of Omega.

Miranda spun; upset that her attacked failed, and desperately tried to find cover whena familiar voice caused her to hesitate.

**Chapter 16**

"Miranda!"

She slowly turned, her body filled with disbelief. Barely above a whisper she cried, "Shepard?"

He stumbled into the room, smirking, and gripping his side in obvious pain. As soon as Miranda saw him, she threw aside her gun and immediately ran toward him; tears beginning to form in her eyes. His pace quickened as he walked toward her. When she had almost reached him he started to speak.

"I came to rescue y…" She cut him off with a kiss, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into her until not even the air could come between them. His hands slid down her back and he picked her up, ignoring every pain in his body. Finally pulling away from his lips, she ran her hands over his face in disbelief. She clenched her eyes shut as they filled with tears. He kissed her forehead and wiped the blood off her face. Smiling at her as she opened her eyes and stared into his – they both lost themselves in the moment.

"I thought you were dead," she choked out - half laughing, half crying.

"I almost was," he said as he set her down, "We have Garrus to thank that I'm not." He motioned in Garrus' direction.

Giving a small nod, Garrus let out a small chuckle, "Oh come on, Shepard – someone has to save your ass."

She smiled warmly at him before turning back to Shepard. Examining her face, he stroked her bottom lip with his thumb, sighing as she winced a little, "Did he do this?" he asked, his anger flaring up.

"It's just a split lip..." she put her hand over his, pulling it from her face, "He got the worse end of that exchange, believe me."

Just as he was about to respond, the sound of applause echoed throughout the chambers. Garrus quickly readied his sniper rifle as Shepard wrapped his arm in front of Miranda and eased her behind him. He lifted his pistol and scanned the room, searching for the source of the clapping.

"Up there!" Miranda pointed at the balcony above them - the same balcony where Garrus had made his stand against the mercs not so long ago. Leaning against the rail was Toombs.

"Commander Shepard... I should have known it would take more than that to kill you," He started to pace as he spoke," It's too bad… Miranda and I had just started to get to know one another."

Miranda grabbed Shepard's shoulders as he lurched forward in anger.

Toombs laughed, "Come on, Shepard. Don't let her stop you – I can feel your anger from here. You want to kill me, don't you? Well… come on up. Bring your friend… and the bitch. The more, the merrier," With that he turned his back on them and walked out of sight.

**Chapter 17**

Shepard readied his rifle as Miranda walked over to the pick up the one she had thrown away when Shepard had reappeared. Garrus tweaked the sights on his scope just a bit, and gave the nod that he was ready. Miranda did the same.

"Let's end this."

They walked up the stairs slowly, careful not to set off any trap that Toombs might've tried to surprise them with. As they turned down the hallway that lead into the main room – looking they could see just exactly what Toombs had waiting for them.

A YMIR mech stood at the ready – though it had been altered. Instead of dealing with just a machine, they came to realize that Toombs had designed it so that he would be integrated into the mech. Where the two red circles would've been – there rested Toombs faced, covered behind what Shepard guessed to be bullet-proof glass.

They stared at him in disbelief as they entered the room where Toombs was waiting – but they kept their rifles at the ready, and each of them had planted their feet to immediately jump into cover should the need arise.

"You know, Shepard," Toombs began, "We really don't have to waste our time doing this. I've been thinking – and I'm willing to let all three of you walk out of here, alive – as a show of good faith."

"You know I can't do that," Shepard responded, anger filling his voice.

"Oh, and why is that, Shepard? You were always the man to try and find the most diplomatic solution to situations. I'm willing to let you go – with the woman, too. No one here has to get hur-"

"No, Toombs… someone here is going to get hurt – and that person is you. No one stabs me in the back, Toombs. No one."

A mock sadness appeared on Toombs' face, "Pity, Shepard. I always had respect for you… upsetting that it has to end this way."

Toombs raised the mech's right arm – aiming a missile directly at the group, "Goodbye, Shepard."

All three of them managed to dodge the impact in time – and as they rolled to their respective cover, they each began opening fire at Toombs. Garrus sent rounds towards the pipes leading to his legs in an attempt to disable him. Miranda was sending a mix of biotic blasts and warps towards the reactor at the back of the mech, but to no avail.

Shepard on the other hand, waiting patiently. He knew Toombs would make a mistake – give Shepard the opening he would need to end the fight, it was his nature. He just needed to wait for that mistake – needed to remain calm and not make any stupid choices.

Toombs circled around the room, trying to get one of them in the opening, but it was no good. Each time he had their broadside, they would just circle around their cover. Frustration began to appear on Toombs face – and Shepard knew that it would be over soon. He tapped out a thermal clip from his battle rifle, and prepared.

The mistake came when Garrus finally hit one of the wires leading down to the leg, causing it to short-circuit and fail. Trying to over compensate for the lack of mobility, Toombs briefly used most of his strength to shift the weight to his stronger side – revealing an opening in the fuselage that gave anyone a clear shot at his ribs.

Shepard, leaning out of cover, took that shot.

He heard Toombs scream as the bullets ripped through his flesh, and found home within his lungs. Toombs began coughing up blood as he screamed in pain, causing the bulletproof glass in front of his face to be covered in it. Shepard approached the mech slowly, ripping open the main area where Toombs was, and pulling the man out from the mech – throwing him into the ground.

Toombs looked up at Shepard, hatred in his gaze, "Kill me then."

Clicking the safety off his pistol, Shepard aimed the gun directly at Toombs. The anger rushing through him prevented him from aiming the pistol steadily, but as he readied to squeeze the trigger, he felt Miranda's hands gently rest on his forearm.

She looked up at him, staring deep into his eyes, "Don't be like him, Shepard. Remember what you did for me when I wanted to kill Niket… let me do the same for you."

Garrus nodded at Shepard, "She's right. I don't think I'd be any happier knowing Sidonis' blood was on my hands."

The anger in Shepard finally subsided, and he let the pistol drop to his side. A smile appeared on Miranda's face as he did, and she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Let's get out of here," she whispered.

Shepard stared down at his old comrade, "No, not yet. I'll let him live - but not without a reminder of what happened here today."

Shepard tapped a thermal clip out of the pistol, its vibrant orange glow radiating through his clenched fist as he caught it before it hit the ground. It seared his skin, causing him to wince slightly in pain. He grabbed Toombs and frowned as he crouched down, looking him straight into the eyes.

"I can't let you continue to spread your lies, Toombs."

Miranda and Garrus both turned as Toombs began screaming.

**Chapter 18**

They walked out of the hideout together, Shepard staring down at the new burn on his left hand, his reminder of what happened here. He gave a small nod in acceptance, closing his eyes briefly as he let go a sigh. He felt a hand gently grab his as he opened his eyes. Miranda walked next to him, examining the burn.

"What am I going to do with you?" She half joked.

"I have a few things in mind…" he perked a brow, smirking at her.

"You ass," she said, shaking her head. She brought his hand up to her face and kissed the wound, keeping her eyes on him. She looked to study his side, but the giant blood stain gave her the answer she needed. As she lifted his shirt slightly to examine his wound, she sighed. "We really need to get back to the ship and stitch you up again."

He nodded and kissed her forehead before turning to Garrus.

"Thanks for showing up when you did, Garrus. Really saved my ass back there…"

Garrus patted him on the back, "Don't mention it, Shepard. I'm sure if it was me in that situation, you'd find some way to do the same."

Shepard gave a shrug, smirking, "Not like I haven't before."

They shared a laugh.

He turned back to Miranda, who was inspecting her busted lip. She looked up at him, a smile on her face.

"Ready?" he asked as he grabbed her hand.

"Never more so." she replied.

**Chapter 19**

Shepard was leaning heavily on Garrus by the time the weary trio arrived onto the Normandy. The left side of his dress shirt was covered completely in blood – and the loss was starting to take its toll on the Commander. As the airlock hissed open, Joker appeared in the doorway leading to the cockpit, a look of excitement on his face – followed by distress as soon as he saw Shepard.

"Wha-"

Miranda cut him off, "It's been a long night, Joker. We'll tell you in the morning. For now, we need to get Shepard tended to."

Joker nodded, folding his arms, and watched as the three made their way to the elevator. As they passed each of the crewmen, they all had worried looks on their face – and whispers of curiosity and worry filled the CIC.

As the elevator doors hummed open to the third level of the Normandy, Shepard stood up straight, and addressed Garrus;

"Why don't you go on, Garrus. I'm fine – just going to go up to my room and rest," he noticed a gash on Garrus' upper arm, probably a result from dodging Toombs' missile, "You go get checked out by Chakwas," he finished – resting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Shepard… I have barely a scratch while you have an opening in your side – and you're telling ME to go get check-" The turian caught Miranda's stern gaze, "Okay, okay. Guess I'll see you both tomorrow, then."

"Garrus, wait," Miranda blurted out before the turian could leave, "Thank you."

"Hm?"

"If it weren't for you, Shepard would be dead. Thank you for arriving when you did."

Not sure how to take the compliment from the ex-Cerberus operative, Garrus just shrugged, "Don't uh… don't worry about it."

Giving a final nod, Miranda pushed the button that would take them up to Shepard's room. She turned, staring worriedly at Shepard, watching him pull away his shirt – the fabric sticking to the blood. She stepped forward, putting a hand gently on his chest, and getting his gaze before slowly removing the shirt herself. As she slowly inspected his wound, her hand gingerly went down his sternum, tracing the outline of his muscular body – sending a shiver down his spine.

As the doors to his loft hummed open, she took his hand in her's, and led him into the room – gently laying him on the couch before retrieving the medical kit hidden inside his desk. Returning to the couch, she sat next to him and began to clean his wound. He watched her face as she worked, her brow furrowed deep in concentration.

A smile crept onto his face as he watched her work, realizing just how lucky he was to have this woman at his side. His head slowly dropped to his opposite shoulder as he rested a hand on her thigh, giving it a small squeeze, deciding it best to let her focus on her work – instead of bringing up the evening.

**Chapter 20**

It took Miranda fifteen minutes to clean, re-stitch, and re-dress the wound. When she had completed the job, she wiped the sweat from her brow, letting go a small sigh. Shepard watched her as she got up and inspected herself – using the aquarium in the room as a makeshift mirror.

"Well, that was money well spent," she commented sarcastically on her ripped dress.

Standing, and biting back the pain of his side, he stepped behind Miranda – running his arms around her waist, "I thought you looked absolutely stunning tonight."

She turned her head towards him, a smile appearing on her face. She ran her fingers down his arms, finally resting her hands on top of his, "I don't think I want another night out for awhile."

She turned around slowly – and Shepard caught her in a kiss. Holding it for just a second, he pulled away, and looked deep into her eyes, "I can think of other ways to occupy ourselves," he said with a smirk.

Slowly, he caught the straps of her dress between his fingers and dragged them down her shoulders. Pulling her into him, he kissed her again as he unzipped the back of her dress. She pulled away from him as it fell to the floor.

"Shepard…" she placed her hands on his chest as she looked up at him, "You should rest."

"Miranda… I almost lost you today. When Toombs took you away… I…" he said, struggling to get the words out. His eyes darted the room, trying in his head to figure out a way to adequately describe the way he felt. Letting a sigh out, he looked down at Miranda, meeting her eyes;

"Not even Akuze compared to the feeling that gripped me when I saw him take you. Tonight made me realize that I could lose you in an instant… with the lives we lead, you could be gone tomorrow."

She squeezed his forearm, "I'm not going anywhere, Shepard."

"Then don't leave me… not tonight," he said.

Her hands slid down his arms, pausing when they reached his hands, "Go lay down. I'm going to get cleaned up a bit." Giving him a coy wink, she let go of his hands and backed away, stepping out of her heels. His breath caught in his throat as she turned and headed for the shower.

**Chapter 21**

Miranda stepped out of the warm shower, the steam filling the room and making it difficult to see. As she wrapped herself in a towel, she approached the mirror. The fog had settled on it, and after using her hand to clear it off, she assessed her appearance.

Her bottom lip was split on the right side from where Toombs hit her. Her cheek bone was slightly bruised, probably from the same strike. She let out a sigh, "Bastard."

As she turned to exit the bathroom, a smile lit up her face and she entered the cabin. She could see through the model ships he had that he was lying down on the bed. She approached him slowly, but as she drew closer, she realized why he hadn't noticed her coming in.

He was fast asleep – the loss of blood from the wound had caused him to pass out as soon as his head hit the pillow. Walking to his side of the bed, she leaned down and kissed him on the forehead – stirring him slightly in his slumber. She let out a small chuckle as a smile appeared on his face.

She walked over to the other side of the bed, letting the towel drop. She put her underwear on and grabbed a blue t-shirt from his drawer to wear. As she slid into the bed beside him, she kissed his tired eyes before laying her head down on his shoulder and closing her own.

**Chapter 22**

Shepard stirred from his sleep, an intoxicating scent filling his nostrils as he slowly began to wake. He felt someone next to him, and a smile came onto his face when he realized who it was. He pressed his body closer to hers, burying his head in the back of her neck, soaking her in as he lightly toyed with her arm – running his fingers up and down then eventually ending up with her hand grasped in his.

Miranda's breath quickened as she began to wake, her body pushing herself closer to his as she rolled onto her back. The sleepy smile she flashed him sent his heart racing.

"No one should be allowed to look as good as you do when waking up," he said as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

She smirked, bringing her left hand up to his cheek, staring into his eyes, "And no one should be as lucky as I am to be able to wake up next to you."

He brought himself up on one arm, moving closer to Miranda. He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. Both of their bodies tensed with anticipation, but neither of them pulled the other closer to finish the kiss. Instead, they began a battle of wills with one another.

Shepard moved his hand down to her waist, and leisurely began inching his way up her shirt. She bit her bottom lip, a small moan escaping her as her nails gently ran down the sinews of his back. Shepard tried to control the shiver that ran down his spine as she did, but failed – and all breathe escaped him as he fought to compose himself. He clutched at her bare skin as his hands slowly climbed up her stomach – a shudder coursing through her body. She rose slightly to meet his lips – the scent of her intoxicating him.

Feeling as if he won the battle, Shepard inwardly triumphed, but as Miranda's lips neared his – she turned her head slightly, instead migrating to his ear.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Commander," she whispered. With that, she hooked her leg behind his and rolled on top of him, pressing her hips firmly into his.

He let out a small laugh as he rose to meet her. A satisfied expression colored her face, and as he traced the line of her jaw with his mouth, a tiny squeal of pleasure passed from her lips. He sent his hands exploring back up her loose shirt, and as they gently found the silky skin below her breasts, she quickly grasped his arms and pushed him back down.

She slowly removed her shirt, toying with Shepard – a smile on her face as she flung the fabric to the other side of the room. She leaned down, resting her body on top of his, all of the tension between the two evaporated. She brought her lips near his – trying to get him to succumb. A small laugh escaped him as he hooked his leg behind hers, and flipped them – repeating the move she pulled on him just a few moments before.

Looking down at Miranda, Shepard began to fully appreciate her beauty. The soft glow from outer space amplified every curve on her body – and the way her eyes flashed up at him sent his heart racing.

"Miranda…" he whispered softly. She brought a finger up to his face before he could continue. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him down to her – and kissed him deeply.

A smile came to her face as he pulled away, "I love you, Shepard."

Shepard paused, the words he wanted to say caught in his throat. After a few moments, he relaxed, and a smile came to his face as he leaned down to meet her lips, barely touching hers before whispering, "I love you too, Miranda."

He meant it – he truly did. In all the years he had been alive, he had never met a woman such as her. He had died and she had been the one to revive him – in every way. Only in death could he have ever met an angel as beautiful and as strong as she. No one else knew him just as she did – and no one else knew her like him. They were a perfect puzzle – waiting to be put together… and Shepard intended on doing just that.

She lightly nipped at his bottom lip, teasing him one last time, before they surrendered themselves completely. Her hands wandered to his pants, unbuttoning them as their kiss grew more passionate. After tugging the fabric away from his hips, she eased her legs to his sides.

A small moan escaped Miranda's lip as Shepard threaded his hand through her hair and their bodies pressed together.

Lost in the passion they had for one another, they kissed each other fervidly, daring the universe to try and them apart.


End file.
